15 Nanjing Residents Prosecuted for Their Faith in Falun Gong

August 30, 2017 | By a Minghui correspondent in Jiangsu Province

(Minghui.org) A total of 15 residents in Qinhuai District, Nanjing City have been arrested in recent years for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Eleven of them have been sentenced to prison, two are awaiting verdicts, and another two are facing trials.

11 Sentenced to Prison, Appeals Turned Down

Ms. Xie Lihua, Ms. Tang Jingmei, Ms. Pan Xiaoqin, and Ms. Pan Qingning were arrested on March 23, 2015 and tried on September 17, 2015. They were convicted on October 9, 2016. Ms. Xie was sentenced to three years and fined 30,000 yuan; Ms. Tang and Ms. Pan Xiaoqin were each sentenced to two years and fined 20,000 yuan; Ms. Pan Qingning was sentenced to one year and fined 10,000 yuan.

Ms. Fu Yurong, in her 40s, was arrested on May 24, 2015 and tried in 2016. She was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan on May 27, 2017.

Ms. Ji Jianxia, Ms. Xiong Guizhen, Ms. Zhang Chaomei, Ms. Wang Huilan, and Ms. Yue Jinlan were arrested on August 14, 2015. Ms. Pan Hanyu was seized two days later. The six practitioners were tried on May 31, 2016 and convicted on December 7, 2016. Ms. Ji was sentenced to four years and fined 40,000 yuan; Ms. Pan, Ms. Xiong, and Ms. Zhang were each sentenced to three years and fined 30,000 yuan; Ms. Wang was sentenced to one and a half years and fined 10,000 yuan; Ms. Yue Jinlan was sentenced to 1 year 3 months and fined 10,000 yuan.

The local higher court rejected the 11 practitioners’ appeals, and they are now serving time in local prisons.

2 Tried and Awaiting Verdicts

Ms. Guan Xiulan, 64, had her blood forcibly drawn by police in early July 2016. Not long afterwards, her home was ransacked and she was taken to Nanjing Detention Center. The local procuratorate returned her case to police, who fabricated more evidence and had her indicted. She was tried on July 12, 2017 and now awaits verdicts. In the meantime, her lawyer is working to get her case dismissed.

Mr. Xiao Wuqun was arrested on October 20, 2016 and tried on March 30, 2017. The local court returned his case to the local procuratorate after the hearing, but the procuratorate forwarded the case to the court again. At the time of writing, the court has not issued a verdict.

2 Indicted and Facing Trial

Ms. Yu huiyu, in her late 70s, was first arrested on March 8, 2017, but she was released hours later due to her poor health. Police came at her again two days later and detained her at a local brainwashing center for three days. One police officer, whose name remains to be discovered, processed her release on bail paperwork but never gave her a copy of the document.

Police submitted their recommendation for indictment to the local procuratorate on May 16. They charged her with giving people a disk containing Falun Gong materials. She received the formal indictment on June 23.

Mr. Chen Tong, in his 20s, is currently held at Qinhuai District Detention Center awaiting trial. The local court once returned his case to the local procuratorate, but somehow the latter agency managed to get the court to accept his case.